Sea of Tears
by CJP
Summary: Cloud thought it was all over. His troubles were just beginning. He thought he'd heard the last of that sick psycho Sephiroth and his mother Jenova... But he didn't. He thinks he'll finally have peace. But he won't. Cloud forgot one simple thing. Dormant
1. Cloud's Arrival

**Summary:** Cloud thought it was all over.... His troubles were just beginning. He thought he'd heard the last of that sick psycho Sephiroth and his mother Jenova... But he didn't. He thinks he'll finally have peace. But he won't. Cloud forgot one simple thing. Dormant Jenova cells that lie sleeping in his body. Jenova cells that have just now awaken due to the tremendous strain on his heart because of Tifa. The Jenova cells in him began to change this once strong-minded hero... First, the physical appearance, then his mental state....and finally his life.

_ Sea of Tears._

_ By CJP_

Closing his eyes silently, Cloud mouthed the words Ice3 and as soon as he did, he felt a cold breeze rush pass him as he felt a surge of power run through his veins and out his fingers. He opened his eyes to reveal that the monster that once stood before him was now on the ground twitching as it died. A smirk spread across Cloud's face, twirling his Ultima Weapon into the air after his apparent win, he took the remaining money that the monster had probably stolen off of one of his victims, and walked away a more experienced man. His eyes gleamed, as he walked off.

"Think you're good enough to fight _me_?" Cloud said

He had sensed another presence long before... Watching his every move. He didn't like to have people watching him make a living. The wind blew as he waited for a response. He didn't even turn around, but he could feel the eyes on his back... burning a hole deep into his dark, tormented soul. The reddish-brown eyes of the one who challenged him flickered, and with a grin on their face they walked from the safety of the shadows.

"Cloud....you know, you don't have to be so mean." said the sound of a woman's voice

Cloud chuckled to himself. He hadn't seen her in months, nor had he heard her voice. He was suprised to say the least, but did not let his guard down. More than likely, she wanted a fight. Tifa Lockheart was known for her superior martial art skills, and Cloud knew that if he fought her, it would very well be a tough match indeed. So if she caught him off guard, there was no guarentee that he would win. Tifa smiled and hugged her childhood friend. Cloud, not knowing how to react just stood there silently.

"Its been almost a year Cloud..." Tifa said laying on Cloud's chest, "What have you been you been up to?"

Cloud pulled her away and looked away.

"I got some girl pregnant..." he said without looking at her

"YOU WHAT?!" Tifa shouted "CLOUD STRIFE! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!!"

Her face was evident of both jealousy and anger. How could he? Go get some nameless girl pregnant? She raised her hand to smack him and as soon as she did, he grabbed her hand and pushed it behind her back. She yelped in pain, not expecting Cloud to do something like that to her. He just smiled and laughed.

"I'm just kidding Teef, can't you take a joke?!"

He gently let her go, and she stumbled to the ground. She looked at him with the evilest glare, and growled a little. Her eyes flickered she was about to seriously hurt him. Standing up, she looked down and slowly her head rose until she stared him in the face. A smile spread across her face.

"You tell a joke?! Ha! That's really funny Cloud. Really funny. Now, **don't you ever make a joke that serious again unless you don't plan on having kids..**" Tifa snapped

Cloud stopped laughing and back away. He could tell she was jealous, but it didn't get through to him why. He looked in the direction of the village and that's when Tifa had realized she'd been talking to him to long..

"Oh oh!!" said Tifa clasping her hands over her mouth, "Vincent wishes to see you! He's been worried and believes that something bad has happened."

Cloud looked at the sky. Was there ever a day when he wasn't needed somewhere? He left in search of a purpose in life. He couldn't find one, so he came home... to Nibelheim. He had expected for everyone to be there...especially seeing as he HAD told Tifa a month ago, that he'd be comming home. He had been training alone, feeling that it was necessary in order for him to reach his goal... To protect the ones he loved. The more he thought about it, the more it hurt him... He looked at her and with a sign of resentment, he followed her into the village.

"A lot has changed since you last visited this place.. Since we last saw each other." Tifa said looking down

"Like what?" Cloud asked "Its not too drastic of a change I hope." he said

"I'm....getting married...."

"You're WHAT?!" Cloud said suprised

"Yes....he's the most wonderfulest man....and I really love him..."

Cloud glared, looking around at every man he could. Who...who would dare marry Tifa? Not that she wasn't pretty enough, or nice enough.. But he had always hoped that.... Well, it didn't matter what he hoped. Tifa was getting married. He had to show some kind of support.

"WHAT THE HELL YOU MEAN YOU LOVE HIM?! WHO IS HE?!" Cloud growled

Tifa sighed. She thought he'd take it well.... She thought he'd be happy for her. It saddened her that he didn't approve of it. Of all the people she hoped to please, he was the number one person. His opinion was so highly valued in her eyes. Because she had known him the longest, she felt that he needed to know....

"I mean I love him and I expected you to congradulate me instead of being pissed off about it! Why can't you be happy for me?!" she asked

Tifa's voice was dripping with anger, confusion. Her friend, the one she known the longest didn't even like the fact that she was getting married... It put a scar on her soul, and inside she felt herself caving in and crying. She didn't know he'd be so pissed. But then again, she didn't really know Cloud.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Eh...not meh best work... But its gotta be one of meh favorites... Its a Clotif, and I wuv that so pwease R&R. Lemme know what you think. And who yer predictions as to who Tifa's husband is.


	2. The Engagement

A/N: I didn't realize how many errors I had...heh heh Will try to do better next time.  
To The Raven: Yeah...Cloud can sometimes get on people's nerves.... but most of us like him for that! ;; But anyways, I do have grammar problems....;; always have....;;, and about the details..I'm still a novice at writing details... I can't explain things in detail that well.. I guess it is my curse... But my friend, is trying to help! Yeah! So.....I'm gonna try to get better.

Sea of Tears

Chapter 2: The Engagement

Cloud could tell that she was upset. She probably felt like crying. And he wasn't helping at all. He pushed a lock of his blonde hair away from his face and sighed. He could at LEAST give it a try, its not like he liked her like that anymore right? When he left 6 months ago, all he could think about was Tifa, but he realized that maybe Tifa wasn't the one for him... But that didn't mean that he couldn't protect her like he would if she were his own sister, did it?

"Look! I'm sorry sheesh, the first thing I hear when I come back and its 'I'm getting married.', how do you think I feel? Pissed? Yes, but if you're happy then I guess I'm happy."

Tifa looked at him with such admiration, and it was as though the whole subject of him freaking out was long forgotten. She grinned and grabbed him by the hand. He was suprised to say the least, as she tugged on his arm like an anxious kid waiting to be taken out.

"Come on! Vincent is waiting Cloud! He's been expecting you and you can't keep him waiting! He wants to talk to you..."

"Oh right!" Cloud said "I forgot all about him."

"Wait wait waiiittttt!!!!" Tifa said as she pulled away from him "Before that I would like to show you my ring!"

"Your...what?"

"My ring!!"

Tifa pulled out a 3 karat ring engraved with her name in it.. She giggled a little while showing off her ring. It was beautiful, with a diamand surrounded by small garnets and other types of stones. Cloud laughed to himself. The person who bought it for her obviously had no gil.

"So...when will I meet the lucky bastard--I mean man?" asked Cloud

"That's not way to talk of him like that!!" Tifa said as she playfully hit Cloud

She grinned playfully and finally realized that she heard something growling. Looking down, she realized it was her own stomach! She was hungry, and it seemed that Cloud had noticed it. He was looking at her with the silliest grin ever.

"What?! I haven't ate.... I was so excited I forgot about my hunger."

Cloud sighed, he realized that he had not had anything to eat either. Quickly marveling over the beautiful trees that he saw swaying from the wind's breeze, he followed Tifa to a place he'd never seen before. It was spacious, the walls painted a reddish brown color, the mood of the room was happy, and cheerful. People gathered around the bars for drinks, while others sat back on brown leather seats talking amongst themselves. Tifa smiled and as soon as she had walked in, everyone in the place turned to meet her with a very loud "Welcome Back Miss.Lockheart", which made Tifa laugh a little. Cloud didn't think it was funny at all.

"How.....did you get money to afford a place like this?!" Cloud asked curiously

"Oh! I didn't mention that did I? I'm so sorry..." Tifa said

A man came from behind the bar, and served Tifa an order of sushi and rice cakes. Cloud figured that what the man had given Tifa, was what she normally ordered.. Before Cloud could order, he noticed that Tifa had already began to eat her food at an amazingly fast pace. Cloud laughed and she stopped in mid slurp, giving him her undivided attention.

"Huh?" she said between mouthfuls of sushi

"Slow down, Tifa or you're gonna get FAT. The food isn't going anywhere but in your mouth, try not to slobber okay? Your new husband won't want a fat wife, nor does he want a pig for one."

The man from behind the bar stiffled a laughter and so did a few other people. Tifa glared at Cloud, who couldn't help but laugh because she had a little bit of sushi on the side of her face. Soon, everyone inside Tifa's "Cloud 9" bar began laughing at her. Never had she felt so pissed off. Swinging her left arm, she punched Cloud dead in the face causing him to grunt before falling to the ground knocked out. Tifa wiped her face and growled.

"Anyone ELSE think its funny how I eat?!" she snapped

The whole bar went dead silent and no one said a word. Happily, she sat back down in her seat and looked down at Cloud who was sprawled out on the marble floor. 10 minutes later, Cloud got up holding his black eye groaning in pain. Tifa stood looking at him with the least bit of concern.

"I'm not gonna let you bully me anymore, I'm a grown woman."

"Sorry....owchh.." he said rubbing his cheek "If you weren't a girl...I'd..."

"You'd WHAT?" seethed Tifa "You'd hit me back?"

Cloud sighed. He couldn't win with Tifa, she just end up fighting him. Though he'd probably win, he didn't want to fight. He hadn't come to town to fight, he came to check on Tifa and the others. Tifa sensed that he didn't want to start a fight, so she backed off and returned to her 'innocent' self once more. Closing her eyes, she pulled out a green orb, mouthing the word 'Cure', a green light surrounded Cloud and hoisted him into the air. Cloud's body absorbed the green light, and as soon as it did, his black eye began to fade away. He floated safely to the ground.

"Thanks." he mummbled

"Anyways, my fiancee' gave me the money to buy this place. I hadn't even noticed it before but this was such a beautiful place that I just couldn't leave it here for someone else to buy. So, I sorta... asked my fiancee' and he said that if he did that, then I'd have to go on at least one day with him. At first, I was thinking hell no, but if it was to buy this dreamy place, then I decided to just do it. It wouldn't harm me. So I told him yes, the next day. We planned the date--"

"I don't care, how you two first met... Sorry to burst your bubble Tifa... I think its kind of odd that a man just out of the blue would give you....exactly how much gil?"

"The person who owned it said....uh......around 10 million gil."

"WHAT? 10 MILLION GIL?!" Cloud shouted "THAT'S STUPID! SOMEONE YOU BARELY KNOW, GIVING YOU 10 MILLION GIL TO BUY A PIECE OF JUNK LIKE THIS?!"

Something was wrong to Cloud.... Tifa wasn't telling him something. Did she.....no.... she couldn't have. Tifa wouldn't have done something like that, would she?

"Cloud calm down!!"

"You....you didn't SLEEP with him did you Tifa?!" Cloud asked

"NO WAY! I would never do something like that!!"

"Then why would a complete stranger give you 10 MILLION GIL?!"

Tifa looked down shyly... They were already attracting everyone's attention yet again. Cloud seemed to love to embarrass her without knowing that he was doing so. Strange, but true. Tifa fidgeted a little.

"Why...Tifa? What's going on. There's something you're not telling me."

"Uh....Cloud....we've known each other....a long time...right?"

"What are you getting at.... Tifa spill "

"WWWWWWWWHHHHHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?????!!!!!!!" screamed Cloud

Everyone had grown silent. The drama was building and building.. People were writing down bets as to how long it would take before Tifa punched him again. Tifa sighed, she tried to calm Cloud down once more.

"L-look!! I know we thought he was dead and all....but....he's not...."

"I can TELL." he growled "YOU ARE SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY!"

"He's not the enemy! Rufus has changed!! And when I become Mrs.ShinRa, I'll make sure that no more people are experimented on!!"

"But.....WHY? How did Rufus escape the blast?!"

"A trap door...."

"He was unharmed?!"

"Not exactly....."

"Then WHAT?"

"He sorta....lost his vision...."

"HE WHAT?!" Cloud said

"STOP SCREAMING AND SHUT UP! TAKE IT LIKE A MAN CLOUD! STOP LETTING YOUR SUPEREGO GET THE BEST OF YOU! I LOVE HIM AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!" blurted out Tifa

"You....what....?"

Tifa looked at Cloud, he seemed a little bit hurt by what she had said. She clasped her hands to her mouth once more and turned away.. Cloud was silent for a couple of minutes, and in a very cold voice responded:  
  
"Take me to Vincent..."

"But Cloud I...."  
  
"I SAID....take me to Vincent." snapped Cloud

His tone of voice, stung like salt on an open wound... With tears in her eyes, she stood up... In a low, sad voice she ushered him to follow her. Without saying goodbye to everyone else, she lead him to Vincent's place.

To Be Continued

A/N: Eh....Longer than last time.... But...not much with details, I took into consideration what The Raven said... SEE!! I listen to my readers! Its not like I don't care! Yeah! XD I hope you all enjoyed it. Yes, Rufus is blind.... I had to do something.... I love torturing people, but anyways, now that you've read... REVIEW! Yeah! Pwease!


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